INTRODUCTION
- Ireland's strong technology and financial services sectors make Ireland a natural choice for establishing a Payment Institution to service EU/EEA customers.
- Payment Institutions are regulated entities which are authorised to provide payment services.
- Authorisations from the Central Bank of Ireland (Central Bank) as a Payment Institution are granted under the European Union (Payment Services) Regulations 2018 (Payment Regulations) which transposed the Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2) into Irish law.
- The Central Bank has published its application forms and guidance notes on the authorisation of a Payment Institution under PSD2.
- The Central Bank does not grant authorisations as a Small Payment Institution (a more limited form of payment institution authorisation offered in some other EU Member States).
- Our Financial Regulation team has extensive experience securing authorisation of Payment Institutions and other regulated FinTechs. For example, William Fry has acted for one third of the Electronic Money Institutions that have been granted authorisation in Ireland to date on their applications for authorisation as an Electronic Money Institution.
PROCESS AND TIMELINES
| Stage | Target Timelines |
|---|---|
| Initial preparation of application for authorisation | Up to 2-3 months may be required to prepare a sufficiently detailed application for submission to the Central Bank. |
| Arrange an initial meeting | Contact the Central Bank's Payments Authorisation Team by email to arrange an initial meeting. |
| Key Facts Document | At least 5 working days prior to the initial meeting, the applicant must return a Key Facts Document to the Central Bank. This document should contain a summary overview of the applicant's proposed arrangements, including organisational and shareholder charts. |
| Initial meeting between Central Bank and applicant | The initial meeting is an opportunity for the applicant and the Central Bank to discuss the contents of the Key Facts Document. The initial meeting also provides the applicant with the opportunity to raise questions relating to the authorisation/registration process and any specific requirements concerning its business model. The Central Bank may highlight initial matters or areas of focus which might need to be addressed by the applicant. |
| Key information check and initial assessment | The Central Bank aims to check that all required documentation has been provided within 10 working days of receipt of the application. The Central Bank will then conduct an initial assessment of the submission. |
| Notification of progression or issues identified | The Central Bank will notify the applicant of the outcome of the initial assessment which is either (i) progression (i.e. that the application can progress to the assessment stage and a case manager is assigned) or (ii) issues have been identified precluding progression (i.e. that the application cannot progress to the assessment stage and the reasons for this decision). In the latter case, the applicant will have an opportunity to address the issues identified (through written submissions and/or meetings). |
| Assessment stage |
The Central Bank aims to complete the assessment stage and notify the applicant of the outcome within 90 working days of commencing the assessment stage. However, if the Central Bank seeks further information, this 90 working day clock is paused until a satisfactory response is received by the Central Bank. Note: In certain circumstances (for example, if significant legal issues arise and/or there are significant changes to the business model), the 90 working day clock can be switched off entirely. |
| Notification of assessment stage | The Central Bank will notify the applicant of whether its assessment of the application is favourable (Minded to Authorise/Register letter) or not (Minded to Refuse letter). A further round of submissions may be required from the applicant. |
| Notification of decision in respect of the application | The Central Bank aims to notify the applicant of the outcome within 10 working days of receipt of a satisfactory response to matters detailed in the Minded to Authorise/ Register letter final decision in respect of the application is made (i.e. approval; approval subject to conditions; or refusal). |
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